UK's 'most-advanced' unmanned aircraft makes succesful test flights

LONDON (AFP) - An unmanned drone said to be the most technologically advanced aircraft ever built in Britain has made its first successful test flights, military chiefs announced on Wednesday.

The 185 million pounds (S$382.57 million) top-secret Taranis craft, named after the Celtic god of thunder, conducted the tests at an unnamed location, believed to be in the Australian desert, in August last year, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) revealed at a briefing in London.

It was designed and built by BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, GE Aviation and QinetiQ, working alongside MoD military staff, and was funded by the government and the UK defence industry.

The pilotless aircraft was first unveiled by BAE at a glitzy ceremony in 2010 but has since been kept under wraps.